Lahaina, HI – The American Planning Association (APA) today announced the designation of Front Street as one of 10 Great Streets for 2011 under the organization’s Great Places in America program. APA Great Places exemplify exceptional character and highlight the role planners and planning play in creating communities of lasting value.
APA singled out Front Street for its history, amenities, revitalization efforts, and continuous use by multiple generations for a variety of purposes. Its postcard-picture views and mild climate attract tourists and residents to Front Street virtually round the clock.
“The planning success of Front Street is due to years of effective partnerships between non-profit organizations, government leaders and countless community members. With everyone striving to balance Front Street’s historical, cultural and commercial needs we will ensure that this special seaside treasure lives on,” said Maui County Council Member Elle Cochran.
Through Great Places in America, APA recognizes unique and authentic characteristics found in three essential components of all communities – streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces. APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live every day and are defined by many things including planning efforts, architectural styles, accessibility, and community involvement.
“Natural beauty, history, and community pride have coalesced to create a place that is special – in different ways – to each individual who traverses Front Street’s wide and unique sidewalks,” said APA Chief Executive Officer Paul Farmer, FAICP. “Nearly five decades of preservation and revitalization efforts have uncovered and saved more than 1,300 years of culture and heritage. From its start as the home of Native Hawaiian royalty to its days as a whaling outpost and missionary stronghold, and later a plantation town, to its current status as a tourist attraction, Front Street has embraced its history while accommodating more contemporary uses,” he added.
Since APA began Great Places in America in 2007, 50 Neighborhoods, 50 Streets and 40 Public Spaces have been designated in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
There is a predictable flow to life along Front Street, where different hours of the day bring different groups of people and activities to a thoroughfare that has been integral to Lahaina for more than 13 centuries. As early as 4am, elderly residents walk in pairs through the dim light while fishermen line up along the seawall. Children flood the street around 7am, headed for Front Street’s King Kamehameha III Elementary School. Shortly after, shop employees arrive, grabbing a cup of coffee before heading to work. Throughout the day, the street is filled with visitors and residents who come to enjoy the amenities and scenery. By 2am, the last partying couple leaves Front Street and the street sweeper moves in before the cycle begins again.
With its wooden storefronts, second-story balconies, parks, art galleries, eateries, residential quarters, and divine views of the majestic West Maui Mountains, Lahaina Harbor and the island of Lanai, the Front Street packs in a bit of everything for which Lahaina is renowned. While much has changed since the mid-19th century when Lahaina was a major port of call for whaling ships needing to resupply, Front Street retains much of its plantation vernacular architecture, though it has traded in its rowdy taverns and sailors for restaurants, shops, galleries and tourists.
From south to north, Front Street’s architecture and sidewalks reflect Lahaina’s chronological history starting with the Moku'ula archaeological site to buildings from the 1830s and later. The sidewalks feature sections in brick, wood, asphalt and concrete. The curbing is made from blue rock.
Front Street today is recognized for its history as well as its tourism. To stem the exodus of residents from Lahaina due to a lack of jobs, community leaders in the 1950s put forth a farsighted idea – to redevelop Front Street as a complete visitor destination. Through the creation of locally- and federally- recognized historic districts and architectural style and design guidelines, Front Street shares its historic character with a steady stream of tourists.
Local historic districts – Hawaii’s first – were established in Maui in 1962 and 1967 and include parts of Front Street. These districts protect the facades of historic structures. In 1965, Lahaina was listed on the National Register and, three years later, was the focus of an architectural style book designed to protect plantation-era vernacular architecture. Front Street underwent a major $11 million facelift in 1997 that included widening sidewalks and burying most electric utility lines. Other planning efforts have addressed density and commercial development issues within Lahaina’s historic districts, which includes Front Street, and established sign guidelines.
History comes alive along the Lahaina Historic Trail. This self-guided tour explores Lahaina’s rich heritage as, the home of Hawaiian royalty, a busy whaling port, missionary stronghold and plantation settlement. The majority of the trail’s plaques are on Front Street.
One of Hawaii's most historical and sacred treasures lies beneath one of Front Street’s five public parks – this one at the intersection with Shaw Street. Known as Moku’ula, which means sacred island, the village was home to high chiefs and their community from the16th-19th centuries. Carbon dating of organic materials dates them to 700 AD. The Friends of Moku’ula is working to restore the site to its original grandeur. Lahaina, with Front Street as its major thoroughfare, served as the capital for the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1802-1842 when it was moved to Honolulu.
Spectacular views of nature draw people to Front Street. The majestic West Maui Mountains to the east feature sloping agricultural lands, covered with native brush and grass, where sugar cane once flourished. During whale season, pedestrians can spot humpback whales from the seawalls, some breaching close to the reef. The largest Banyan tree in the U.S., planted in 1873, occupies two-thirds of an acre outside the Old Lahaina Courthouse.
While recognized as a tourist destination, Front Street is home to many. In 2001, a $15.3 million affordable housing development with 142 units opened at Front and Kenui Streets.
The nine other APA 2011 Great Streets are: Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA; U Street N.W., Washington, DC; Main Street, Galena, IL; Main Street, Nantucket, MA; Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO; Market Street and Market Square, Portsmouth, NH; Downtown Woodstock Streetscape, Woodstock, VT; King Street, Alexandria, VA; and Davis Street, Culpeper, VA.
For more information about these streets, as well as lists of the 2011 APA 10 Great Neighborhoods and 10 Great Public Spaces, and designations between 2007 and 2010, visit www.planning.org/greatplaces.
This year's Great Places in America will be celebrated as part of APA's National Community Planning Month in October 2011; for more about the special month, visit www.planning.org/ncpm.
The American Planning Association is an independent, not-for-profit educational organization that provides leadership in the development of vital communities. APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art, science and profession of good planning -- physical, economic and social -- so as to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live. Members of APA help create communities of lasting value and encourage civic leaders, business interests and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people's lives. APA has offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Ill. For more information, visit www.planning.org. |
